My second interaction with exhibit design – hosted by the Museum of Decorative arts and Design here in Riga, it was a collection of different milestones in fashion history, with exhibits from both the Latvian Sports Museum and Musée des civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Le Mucem in France and even featuring some distinct outfits by Vivian Westwood.
Gear used:
- Phone camera for reference shots
- Blender and Illustrator for layout and planning
- Photoshop for texture processing
Taking stock
The initial step on such a large project is always to take stock of your assets. While the actual list of works coming in wasn’t certain until the last days, we started going through the museums warehouse for any and all podiums, shields and any surface that could be used for display. We didn’t know exactly how much we were working with, but we knew it was in triple digits – every surface counted.
While there, I took the opportunity to get every measurement and texture I could out of the site. We were lucky the museum had some floor plans on hand, but anything vertical had to be measured on site. A laser measure is an invaluable asset when the ceilings are taller than 3 metres.
Modelling and Layout
The modelling and layout went hand in hand, as without seeing where the exposed brick or lumber lies or light falls, it’s quite difficult to anticipate the end effect on the viewer.
I ended up redesigning the groups of podiums as different clothing patterns in order to enforce distance from the display pieces – as per request of the collection holders. Personally, I feel this unexpected change actually instilled a lot more character into the exhibit than it would’ve had otherwise – definitely a lesson to be learned there.
Result of our labours
It turned out so much better than I could’ve even imagined, props to everyone on the team. Once the lights were on and I could see what was once pixels become reality, a bit of awe overcame me.
You can take a look at the exhibit page here on the museum website or see some wicked good shots of it here.